Leclerc distracted by Tifosi: 'difficult to keep the eyes on the track'

F1 News

Leclerc talks about Monza crowd reaction to Ferarri win
6 September at 20:00
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  • Jenny Garnett
  • Editor

After qualifying in fourth just ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz in fifth, Leclerc led Ferrari to a one-stop strategic victory in Monza, much to the delight of the Tifosi. After the race, Leclerc shared his point of view of the wild celebrations while driving the final laps of the race. 

The Monegasque driver could feel the energy of the crowd as he built up to his unexpected win. Leclerc stated to GPBlog and other media, “I was obviously looking a little bit in the grandstand, I could see everybody was standing up and that was really nice to see. ... But yeah, it's a very special feeling. I could also see some red smoke at one point. So I knew everybody was super excited.”

Leclerc reflects nostalgically on his 2019 Monza win

Thinking back to his prior Formula 1 race win in Monza 2019, Leclerc draws comparisons between the celebrations. "In 2019 I remember there was my mum also in the grandstand because I didn't manage to have a paddock pass for her. This year, she actually had a paddock pass, so it's good. She could watch and experience both things, once in the grandstand and once in the paddock."

Leclerc reflected on his building excitement in the final laps, while also having to remain focused and push to the very end of the race due to pressure from Piastri's McLaren. “But I also knew that I had to finish the job and that I had to stay on it because Oscar had a really good pace. in the last five, six laps, I felt like we had it. The tyres felt good and I could see that Oscar was not that fast to catch me before the end of the race if I was not doing any mistakes.”